


The Search for the Dragonborn

by TheDietElf



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Adventure, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 16:51:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6666568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDietElf/pseuds/TheDietElf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaarina Winter-Born has never been one to seek out combat. Scare away a bear or two with some cheap flashing magelights? Sure. Cheat a bandit ring or two out of their gold? Why not? When all was said and done, Kaarina tended to prefer jobs where money was a little easier, and the beds were guaranteed. </p>
<p>Of course, that was BEFORE she took the impossible job of tracking down the LEGENDARY DRAGONBORN. And with only a one-trick pony of a bladebinder to help her along, what's a two-bit Sorceress to do?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Search for the Dragonborn

**PART I**

Kaarina Winter-Born shivered as the wind stirred up a shimmering whirlwind of ice crystals. The gale was incoming, flying in from the coast below Winterhold. The tips of her pointed ears were starting to feel numb in the cold.

“I think Journeyman’s Nook’s just a little further!” She called back to her companion, an Altmer male who was dressed in robes. His name was Rumarin.

“There is snow packed in between my toes.” Rumarin complained bitterly, leaning heavily on a staff that they had acquired from a group of bandits the day before. “And,” he added, his breath a white cloud in front of his face, “I still don’t know why you insist on keeping thirty cabbages!”

“They’ll come in handy!!” Kaarina’s voice was muffled a little by a gust.  

“For what, starting a fire? Or were you thinking perhaps they’d make good things to use to wipe our arses?”

Kaarina’s tone was less than amused, “It’s ten more minutes at most. Stop arguing, we have to hurry before the storm rolls in.”

Rumarin let out an audible sigh in reply as they carried on up the steep slope. The overstuffed pack he carried was getting no lighter. He was also desperately praying that they wouldn’t be eating boiled cabbage for dinner. The flatulence that followed would be enough to clear and entire hold and he did not wish to put Kaarina through that trial.

True to her word, it was only a few minutes more before they could see the shelter of stone, the entrance nearly obscured by a grouping of icicles. And a few more before they were finally stomping snow off of their boots and shaking it out of their hair and clothes.

“Looks like someone had been camping here before us,” Kaarina noted as she nudged the ashy remnants of an old fire. None of the logs could be salvaged, but there were several empty crates sitting around, and a few logs hiding behind the alchemy table that had been set up.

“Why did you even agree to take this job on?” Rumarin dropped the pack to the floor.

“Someone left some floor skins,” Kaarina ignored him, pulling some old furs out from under the pile of logs, shaking the dust out of them.

“They could have left a bedroll…” Rumarin replied as he struggled out of his boots. He paused as he got one off, watching Kaarina build a fire with found wood scattered about. She lit it easily with a flame spell.

“And sleep in someone else’s lice? I think not.”

“Point.”

 

They spent the next few minutes laying out cooking supplies on the skins near the fire, hanging their cloaks near to dry, checking over their potions to make sure none of the vials had shattered, taking survey of what food they had left (barring the cabbages of course), unstrapping their bedrolls from the pack…

...or. Bedroll.

“...Erm.” Rumarin was baffled. There had been two. But it appeared that the one strapped on the bottom of the pack was, well. Missing. “We seem to have a bit of a problem, Kaarina.”

Kaarina turned from the growing flames, her eyes sweeping the supplies. “I don’t see what you are talking abou--oh.” She shrugged, unconcerned. “So we share, I guess. It’ll be a snug fit, but I’m not that big. Hand me three of those potatoes.”

Rumarin gaped. She couldn’t be serious. He continued to stare as she grunted, stood, and scooped up the potatoes herself, going outside to fill the cooking pot with freshly fallen snow. To sleep pressed together would keep them warm, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to sleep.

“If it’s going to be an issue we can always take shifts keeping watch, Rumarin.” The remark was mild, the amusement behind it was obvious.

Cheeks beginning to burn, he nodded without looking up to see the grin that was surely housed on her face. “I--You never answered me as to why you took this oh-so-impossible mission.”

“You know, I didn’t take you for the shy type. What with all that bluster about your price being 100 septims with no kissing on the mouth.”

“It was a joke. And meant to be funny. And deflective. You’re not supposed to realize that I may or may not be shy. Answer me.” The heat crept up his neck despite the boldness of his statement.

“Later, O Deflecting One. And if you get cold and want to warm up, just let me know.” She wiggled her rump a little to add emphasis and by this point Rumarin was about as red as the tomato she was adding to the soup.

The fire crackled merrily now in warm contrast to the whistling wind outside. Rumarin was finding it a bit hard to come up with any witty comebacks as he continued to stare at Kaarina’s hips. In his defense, she _had_ pointed them out--with her long legs and taut rump and-- He swallowed, busied himself with extracting wooden bowls and silverware from his pack, and turned the offer over in his mind. He couldn’t help it. How could he help it?

The silence continued until Kaarina finally spoke, completely disregarding the awkwardness she had caused.

“So. The Dragonborn. To be honest, I took the job because I owe some people a lot of coin.”

“You still owe me ten septims…” Rumarin said lowly.

“Why don’t we just focus on what we know instead of petty little details?” Kaarina cleared her throat grandly, “Let’s see, what little I know about him is that he is a warrior in ebony armor, and that he is currently nowhere in Winterhold now, but he _has_ been here.”

“He’s been all over Skyrim, Kaarina. You also forgot that most of the people around the Inn claimed he was seven feet tall and built like a bear.”

“And is a Dunmer.” Kaarina mused, “Though, Nelacar says he may as well have been a full blooded Nord man…” Kaarina soured her face in an imitation of the mage they had spoken to, “...‘with the way he crashed around bellowing along with Mogo’s Mead.’”

“I have never seen a Dunmer who was as tall as the rumors say.” Rumarin ladled some soup into each of the bowls. “But since we’ve been traveling together I’ve seen a trained dancing troll, an Orc who wanted to replace my brain with small rodents, and what I am sure was the ghost of a Ragnar the Red.”

“I don’t believe that last one at all.” Kaarina was removing her boots finally, settling down cross-legged on one of the less worn wolf skins. She accepted a bowl of soup, Rumarin joining her on the floor.

“Well, you should considering all the trouble you’ve dragged me in to.”

They ate hungrily, soaking slightly stale bread into golden broth. They talked around mouthfuls of cheese, watching the sky grow dark just outside their shelter. Night crept in, and with it the blizzard.

 

~

 

The eerie absence of wildlife sounds outside made Kaarina shiver next to the fire. There was an occasional grunt or hitch of breath from the sleeping Rumarin, but all else was still. It put Kaarina on edge.

As a hedgemage and occasional adventuring sorceress, she was not quite equipped to deal with more than the wildlife from the milder southerly holds of Skyrim--and maybe the occasional lone bandit. Defending herself against wolves, or dissuading a bear from making her its next meal was easier to do than dealing with full camps of bandits or necromancers or draugr--or worst of all, falmer. She had even somehow managed to befriend a hagraven (named Melka), who was in fact fair company provided you liked bottles of eyeballs and goat heads on pikes as standard decor.

Kaarina rubbed her hands together and then stuffed them in her armpits, willing them to warm. The temperature had dropped drastically since night had fallen, and a swift wind was blowing off of the sea ice below.

I hate snow. She thought bitterly. And I don’t want any reason to have to be this far north ever again.

Rumarin shifted in the bedroll, his tunic dishevelled. There was a small layer of frost forming on his eyelashes.

Maybe it won’t matter so much if he’s already too tired to be embarrassed. Kaarina slipped out of her leather trousers and padded over to the bedroll in her tunic and smallclothes. She waited a moment, then kneeled.

“Say, Rumarin?” Kaarina reached over to move a few strands of hair from across his mouth, “It’s cold, mind if I join you?” She waited.

He stirred, mumbling thickly.

“Rumarin.” She repeated, more insistent. Her knees were cold in the air as she continued poking his cheek with an index finger.

Finally, the Altmer sluggishly turned his head toward her with one eye cracked open, “...whassit?” He had been sleeping deeply.

“It’s cold. I’m cold. It’s miserable out here. Can I join you?”

She watched his sleep fogged brain slowly translate her mouth sounds into words. His other eye opened and his face went through a series of expressions, ranging between confusion, embarrassment and hesitation. It was clear, however, that he didn’t want to say no.

And he’s staring at my legs, Kaarina fought a chuckle, but said nothing to discourage or encourage him.

“Well, I can’t let you lose your cute little toesies.” Rumarin sat up and scooted a little to the right.

“Just what I wanted to hear.” Kaarina plunged legs-first into the furs of the bedroll gratefully. Rumarin adjusted until they fit, which ended up with him spooning her very snugly.

“Is this what you had planned all along?” He asked, trying not to press his crotch into her rump.

Kaarina bundled her hair over her shoulder, “Well, no. But it still worked out in my favor. I mean, I’m warm and get to cuddle a cutie.”

“...Thank you, I think?”

“You are welcome, _I think_.” She sighed, “To be perfectly honest, I am just glad to be warm now.”

“Mmhmm…” Rumarin replied. His feet did ache to the bone.

“Lot’s more walking tomorrow…”

“My feet will thank me,” the humor in his voice was softened by a jaw-cracking yawn.

They soon were sound asleep.

 

~

 

“Solstheim?!” Kaarina exclaimed shrilly. The few patrons of the Nightgate inn cast glances in her direction. It had been a fortnight since Journeymen’s Nook.

“Aye, that is what he said.” The innkeeper stroked his beard thoughtfully, “Some strange fellows in masks assaulted him in the road he said. He dragged one of them dark elves in alive and tied him to that there chair. A dark elf himself, even!”

Rumarin swallowed a mouthful of hot stew, adding, “This is closer than we’ve been so far, Kaarina. And it’s hardly anything to complain about. We’ve only been looking for him for a little over four weeks.”

The half-elf growled a bit, sullenly throwing herself down on the bench next to her companion, “Yes but so far we’ve apparently just missed him four times. You think someone as big and recognizable as this legendary Dragonborn would be easier to find! My reputation as the best finder in Skyrim will be sullied at this rate.”

Rumarin piped in cheerfully, mouth full of bread. “He is easy to find. You just have to need his help retrieving your great uncle’s second cousin’s daughter’s family shield buried in a den of bandits.”

“You forgot dragur!” She added in exasperation. “In every one of the stories people have been telling about him, there are at least fifty dragur rising from their slumber to kill him.” Kaarina rested her cheek against the wooden table, sulkily pushing potatoes across her plate.

She punctuated standing up with a dramatic sigh, “I wanted to go south, to Riften… Or even Whiterun…”

 

A gust of wind rushed into the room as the door opened, and a figure who seemed to be comprised of mostly layers of furs squeezed in through the doorway with a curse. Following behind was a red-headed nord in armor, still somewhat fresh-faced, carrying a large sack over his shoulder.

“That was surprisingly profitable!”  The mound of furs squealed in delight, shedding layer after layer of pelts and dropping them on the floor. ‘It’ was a ‘her’ as it turned out. An elf with startling grey eyes and a mass of dark, haphazardly chopped hair with shaved sides had emerged, surrounded by several cloaks, many pelts, and a few swords and daggers. She stepped over the pile with doe like feet.

Kaarina and Rumarin watched curiously, with Kaarina attempting to put together what flavour of Mer this new woman was.  
  
“Excuse me, Innkeeper! Will all of this j--stuff be enough to secure us a room for the next two evenings?” She had neglected to shed her rather overfull knapsack or her belt-pouches.

“I suppose so… yes.” Hadring stroked his beard, appraising the pile and noting the make of some of the steel swords.

“Fantastic! Wonderful! Erik, do help him gather all this up will you? And then bring in the rest of our things! I must get on with valuing some of these books!!” The excitable elf scampered into an unoccupied room, closing the door so as not to be disturbed.

“I want what she’s having,” Rumarin said, bringing his empty bowl and plate back to the bin near the kitchens.

The nord man--Erik--straightened up, carrying a bundle of furs in his rather impressive arms, “I apologize. Katja isn’t usually this--abrupt. She’s found some pretty good books, from what I am understanding.” He deposited the furs  back behind the counter for the innkeep to deal with. “Though to be honest, I only catch about a third of anything she is talking about. I’m Erik.”

Kaarina took a seat near the fire, eyes on the nord, “I’m Kaarina. This is Rumarin.”

“It may sound like a feminine name, but I am not a girl. I just fight like one.” Rumarin held a hand out to Erik and they shook.

“Ugh, he’s been waiting to use that line again for so long.”

That earned a laugh from the young warrior. “I heard talk of Whiterun. What brings you so far astray?” Erik eyed Kaarina’s robes curiously. The mismatched leather sleeves were long enough to cover her hands up to her knuckles.

“We’re looking for someone.” If it sounded a little short, it was. Kaarina wasn’t about to volunteer more just yet. A few weeks back, when she had announced loudly (and drunkenly) to the inn patrons in Dawnstar that she was looking for the Dragonborn, she and Rumarin were accosted just outside the city. A group of bandits had determined killing her was a way to get back at the (already practically legendary) hero.

“I hope they aren’t somewhere lost in the wilderness.” Erik sounded sincere, “Skyrim is a dangerous place for a lone traveler.”

“You’re telling us,” Rumarin replied conversationally, “Just this past week we’ve been attacked by three groups of bandits, eighteen wolves, and two bears. Oh, and we’ve hidden from a dragon. That is something I would _not_ want to repeat.”

“I saw one flying over the mountains in the distance on the way here. Big black beast. Made my blood run cold, that one did.” Erik rubbed his arms as if he had goosebumps.

The conversation meandered niceties for a time, before Kaarina yawned, realizing she had been blearily staring into the flames. She watched as they crawled across a new log, devouring the dry wood greedily in bursts of oranges and yellows. She stood.

“I’m going to bed for the night, Rumarin.”

“Oh, I’ll join you,” He began, starting to pick up his bag.

“No need to hurry.” Another yawn, “You’re having a good talk.” The half elf shuffled into their rented room, already tugging at her robes to loosen them. She shut the door.

Erik continued to watch the spot she had been last standing. “Are you two…?” He ventured cautiously. He wasn’t interested, simply curious.

“Are we…? Oh! Oh, that?” Rumarin waved the question out of the air with a hand, “Not--together if that is what you’re implying. More companions of circumstance I suppose. And she’s not even sick of my jokes yet.”

Erik didn’t miss the very slight tone of something in the Altmer’s manner, but he let it go. Maybe they had more in common then he first anticipated. Katja’s excitable smile crossed his mind, and he smiled.

“My mistake.” Erik said apologetically, “I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“To be fair, it’s cheaper to rent one room rather than two,” Rumarin volunteered maybe a little too readily.

Erik was kind enough not to press the matter further.

 

They talked quite awhile longer, until the logs in the firepit had been reduced to embers. Erik had dismissed himself, saying Katja had likely fallen asleep on her books. The air inside the inn was a little chillier without the fire blazing, and subtle snores could be heard from the innkeeper’s room.

Rumarin removed his boots before entering the room, tiptoeing across some pelts that served as a barrier between the cold stone floor and his feet. He shed his robes and slipped into the bed beside Kaarina in only his trousers. For a moment he was tempted to wrap his arms around her, to press himself close to her warmth as they had slept that night at Journyman’s Nook. He didn’t. Instead rolling over so that his back was to her.

 

~

 

Kaarina sat at the edge of the shattered pier, watching the water of the small lake catching the morning sunlight. It was pleasant enough, well enough into Second Seed that the air was pleasant, even this far North. Plus, the wind was much more forgiving than the chill, deathlike touch blowing off the Sea of Ghosts.

Unrolling her map for the fiftieth time that morning, she flicked the spot where Windhelm was marked in annoyance. Sighing, the half-altmer set the hide scroll on the dock. To say she was annoyed would be understating the cloud that hung around her head.

“If we hadn’t detoured around Mount Anthor and through Wayward Pass, we might’ve caught up to him… _Dammit._ ” She thudded her dagger into the map, cleaving a small slice through the centre of Windhelm.

“You know, that map probably took someone _months_ to draw up.”

“...didn’t want it to blow away,” Kaarina replied sullenly.

Rumarin crouched next to her, placing his palm flat against the middle of her back, “I heard from a traveling caravan that the ship from Solstheim isn’t back in Windhelm port yet. If we travel all day, we can make it to the city by nightfall.”

Kaarina let out another long-suffering sigh and put the map and dagger away.

Rumarin stilled when her arm wound around behind him in a half hug, “Thank you, Rue. I really appreciate your help. I really do.”

“Oh--well, you know. What else was I going to do with my time? Getting eaten by a bear or accosted by skeletons were my only other options.”

Kaarina smiled when Rumarin’s hand moved from her back to around her shoulder as he settled to dangle his own feet off the dock. They sat for awhile, glad for the companionship.

“I hope you don’t charge for hugs, Rue, I really don’t have the gold.”

He snorted, as the comment caught him off guard, and they stood to return to the inn. Friends? Friends was good enough for him, he told himself.

 

~

 

“Wait!! Before you go!!!”

Kaarina paused, turning with her hand against the door out. The pack on her shoulder slid a little.

“Considering you are such an experienced adventurer I was very much hoping to travel with you! Erik told me you were on your way to Solstheim.”

It was the exquisitely short grey-eyed elf from the night before--er--Katja. Katja was her name, wasn’t it?

“Uh?” Kaarina floundered, “We are headed in that general direction, yes…”

“I can assure you that I will not be a detriment to your journey--thatistosay, I can pay you for your company if you like.” Katja cleared her throat, “In that, I am not particularly skilled at combat…”

“Well we do like money,” Rumarin chimed in helpfully, before Kaarina could object.

“Oh, _wonderful,_ yes I will be sure to make it worth your journey--letmepackupmythings!”

 

And in a whirlwind moment, it seemed their company had doubled.

**Author's Note:**

> This document started out as "SELF INSERT MARY SUE TRASH SKYRIM FANFIC" and of course, has taken on it's own little delightful life as I've romped through Skyrim. 
> 
> Mostly posting here so I don't lose it later, but if you enjoy it, I am humbled beyond belief--and I encourage everyone to try writing their own adventures in as self insert trashy a way as possible.


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